On Fire on the Track, Firm in Its Vision: Haras Las Retamas Stays the Course

After Producing Champion Dark Love, Boutique Breeder Repeats the Formula with New G1 Success, Focused on Select Mares and Premium Coverings

The Ardiendo Team, All Smiles After Gran Criterium Victory / HSI

By Diego H. Mitagstein

The world of Thoroughbred breeding is constantly in motion—not only in Argentina, but globally. Farms exit the game, others step in, and many of the newer operations tend to favor a “quality over quantity” model, aiming to optimize resources, pursue sustainability in an often-difficult business, and give their foals the best shot to grow up healthy and strong, with dreams of reaching the big races.

In Argentina, several boutique operations have emerged with ambitions of fighting for major races. The path is not an easy one, but it's one taken with faith and big hopes. Among them is Haras Las Retamas, where Gustavo Uher has brought a radical shift in philosophy—turning what was once just a hobby for his father into a competitive and ambitious breeding program.

A couple of seasons ago, Las Retamas enjoyed its first G1 win and champion with Dark Love (In the Dark), who captured the G1 Gran Premio Estrellas Juvenile before being sold to race in Hong Kong.

Now, the name Las Retamas is once again making headlines, this time with a 2-year-old colt, and not by coincidence alongside the same successful team: Stud San Isidoro, trainer Enrique Martín Ferro, and jockey Eduardo Ortega Pavón.

Ardiendo is his name, and last Sunday he scored a thrilling win in the G1 Gran Premio Gran Criterium on the turf at San Isidro, delivering another huge moment for Uher and his team.

“Ardiendo came in the belly of Albinia, whom we purchased at a Vacación sale,” Uher explains. “We chose her because she had real ability on the track and came from a strong female line—she was a stakes winner, as were her dam Aprilla (Roy) and her granddam April Talk (Confidential Talk). She’s by Dynamix, a son of A.P. Indy—a sire I truly admire and one that really enhances physical quality. She was also in foal to Remote, which was a huge plus. He’s a full brother to Kingman, and even back then he looked like he was about to break through, which is exactly what happened.”

“Ardiendo was Albinia’s first foal for us, and he always stood out,” he adds. “Once he was ready and entered training for the sales, we were fortunate that Martín Ferro and Stud San Isidoro chose him—the same team that had just campaigned Dark Love. We were thrilled that some of our horses were once again going into familiar and trusted hands, and that we’ve been able to repeat our success so quickly.”

For a small operation, broodmares are everything. On this front, Uher emphasizes: “We’re always looking to improve our band. We’ve had success both on the track and commercially, and we try to reinvest in new mares for replacement and renewal. We’re what you’d call a boutique farm—we breed in small numbers but always aiming for the highest possible quality, so constantly upgrading our broodmares is a must. We recently bought some exciting new ones, including Sanamia (Exchange Rate), dam of Special Dubai (E Dubai), a G1 winner and now in foal to Il Campione. We also added a daughter of Not for Sale out of Estricta, a G1-winning daughter of Roy, and I’d been wanting to have a mare like her for some time.”

Equally important as the mares, Uher has bold plans for stallion selections. “We don’t stand our own stallions, but this year we’re making a big push. We plan to breed around 75% of our mares to proven sires like Fortify (Distorted Humor), Il Campione (Scat Daddy), Hi Happy (Pure Prize), and Treasure Beach (Galileo),” he shares. “We’ve also joined newer initiatives like Verifying (Justify), and we’re very excited about the first foals from Imperador (Treasure Beach) and Satono Flag (Deep Impact), who we believe in and are supporting.”

After producing Dark Love, Las Retamas is now enjoying the success of Ardiendo, another milestone that fuels the desire to keep pushing forward—and delivers the kind of joy that makes it all worthwhile.